In which I want to cause bodily harm to many people

I should perhaps learn to be less stressed, more chilled out and easy-going, and less homicidal. But let's face it: it's most likely not going to happen. Though I am trying to increase the amount of yoga (both time and number of times a day) that I do.

Oh, so many things. Still no word back from UKBA, so Adam's and my passports are still being held hostage. I'll be writing a letter to them shortly, even though they've requested that people not contact them--this is why I'm writing, not calling. I have plane tickets in September, so if I have to do a stupid biometrics thing (again) for the stupid biometrics card that I'm required to travel with (as well as my passport) I need that taken care of sooner rather than later. And we both have travel plans in November.

I'm seriously ready to murder the physio people upstairs. Now they also seem to run a babysitting service, which seems to include yelling and stomping, and last night, kicking rocks into our bedroom/bathroom windows (we live in an underdwelling, so our back rooms are half underground). Last night I heard a shout of "mommy!" when the little brats arrived, so "Mommy" needs to explain the notion of courtesy to others. Of course Mommy doesn't seem to have learned that lesson herself, so I don't know why I would expect her to pass that on. And they've started coming in on Saturdays now as well.

A job I applied for a few weeks back contacted me about a week after the deadline, not to invite me for an interview or tell me I was unsuccessful, but to tell me that they decided not to hire someone after all. I understand that sometimes things happen, but it really sucks that my time--and that of all the other applicants--was wasted.

I was slightly peeved at my in-laws for wasting blueberry coffee cake,* albeit unintentionally. It wasn't their fault, but I gave them half of a crack cocaine delicious blueberry coffee cake, and I even made it properly and separated the eggs to fold the beaten egg whites in.** They were going to have it for breakfast the following day whilst on holiday, but turns out the cottage they were at had ants, and they infested the cake. Completely not their fault, but Adam and I happily would have eaten their share of the coffee cake (without ants, of course).

I'm also irked at Morrisons' loo roll. We haven't been out to Makro in ages (which is like Costco, but crappier and with more labels in Polish) so we ran out of decent loo roll, and--out of a desire to be able to wipe my butt in a sanitaryish manner--I bought some from Morrisons. Admittedly it was the cheapest I could find, but the only positive thing to say about this loo roll is that they last a while. And technically speaking, it's two-ply. But only technically speaking.

In terms of good news, I have an interview--on Adam's birthday, no less--for a job that I desperately want, think I would be good at, and would love. I'm going to Makro tomorrow for loo roll and other necessities and also going out to the homebrew supply place so we can make three more batches of beer (pale ale, a strong dark one, and a vanilla porter which is my recipe). Our neighbors asked us to plant sit for them for a couple of weeks and in return, they gave us a bar of Swiss milk chocolate; completely unnecessary but holy crap delicious. I've made two more batches of blueberry coffee cake: one for Adam and I (mostly gone) and the second just finished one for Pam and Tony (there will be death if this one molds or gets attacked by bugs since it's freezable). I've also got a pretty good coleslaw dressing that I've created. Donut peaches are in at the green grocer's, so I think it'll soon be time for peach and ____ cobblers. Nom nom nom.

*As an FYI for non-American readers, in the US, coffee cake doesn't have to include coffee as an ingredient. Instead it's called coffee cake because it's served with coffee (or tea). Think Hyacinth Bucket offering biscuits to her neighbor Elizabeth and you've got the idea.

**I won't be doing that again. It's not hard by any stretch, but instead of being a one bowl cake, it becomes a two bowl cake and takes twice as long to make. There is a minimal taste/texture difference.

Because it is Thursday

Because it is Thursday, and Mom and Barbara go out on Thursdays (and apparently talk about my blog from time to time, which makes me think that hobbies need to be found--not that I don't appreciate the readership, because I do), I need to post something.  I have a whole bunch of posts stored in my head for the food blog--though I'm forgetting how to make the curried carrot soup, so perhaps that's one post less--but I'm rather lacking in worthwhile content here on this lil ol' blog.

Depending on your perspective, there's either nothing to report or lots to report.  Three weeks from tomorrow we'll be in Nottingham for the weekend, at what might possibly be the coolest beer festival ever. We went last year for the first time, and it was awesome to max, and we're meeting up with friends from Leicester again this year (same friends, even.  Perhaps our only friends.).  This year, however, we're more prepared.  Not only are we going for two nights--because you can't sample 900+ ales and ciders in only one night--but this time we're going prepared.  Camping chairs for the festival, since seats and tables are not provided, Tylenol/paracetamol for the head, multi-vitamins to prevent the crushing weakness brought on by alcohol purging all vitamins and minerals from the body, and "magic juice" which apparently prevents vomiting.  Water nearly made The Boy hork--in Sainsbury's, no less, while I was trying to find a sandwich--but Copella Apple Juice made him semi-human again.  I'm also insisting upon some V-8, which has a different set of nutrients in it.  We'll even bring some food to supplement the pork pies and other food at the festival, though we're planning on eating at Olde Trip (under the Castle, where the festival is) and I'd like to try the pub that's across from the entrance to the Castle grounds, which I believe is a Castle Rock Brewery pub.

Eight weeks from Sunday we'll be on a plane to the states.  Eight weeks from Saturday we'll be on a train to the super-posh Radisson-Blu hotel in Manchester airport, because I didn't think about trains when I booked our flights.  My logic was "hey, it's the same price to fly Sunday as it is to fly Monday, so we get an extra day for free!"  Except trains don't start running on Sundays much before 9am, and our flight leaves Manchester at 9am, so that doesn't really work.  Oops.  But still, a nice way to ease us into our holiday.  And no faffing about with cabs or hotel shuttles, because there's literally an entrance to the hotel *in* the airport.  Badass, that is.  Also, we've stayed their before, and the fear of bedbugs or getting raped/robbed is minimal.  In our advancing years, The Boy and I seem to be afraid of new hotels, especially if they're cheap.

Beyond our future travels, I've applied for a few jobs, made about 2 gallons of soup in varying flavors (broccoli cheddar, curried carrot, parsnip Parmesan, and chicken and dumplings), randomly made a half-batch of chocolate chip cookies last night (note: a half batch makes way faster than a full batch, but far fewer than half the amount of cookies.  I did eat a bunch of dough, and saved some for The Boy, so that may account for part of the problem).  I have a weird variant of writer's block, in that I know where and what and how, but I need the words to get them there (trans: I hate and suck at writing prophecy.  I also hate the notion of prophecy, which is not lessening my problems.).

I also bought this:

I named it Roger.

For reference purposes, the white bit is nearly as long as my arm, and I can't actually wrap my hand around it and have my fingers touch.

Obligatory Posting

Though I don't post as often as some would like, not having my own computer certainly lessens it.  Since I had to login anyway to add to my reading list, I figured I'd do my blogger duty and actually write and post something else.  So here goes random thoughts and updates.

1.  I think I am in love with Adam Baldwin.  He is the greatest Baldwin brother of all, perhaps because he isn't a Baldwin brother at all (no relation to those idiots).   You may know him from such shows as Chuck (John Casey), Serenity/Firefly (Jayne), and Independence Day (Major Mitchell).  He's also been in about a gazillion other things, and he seems to rock every role he's in.  I dearly love him.  My Adam is less pleased about that.

2.  Carmel is back from her holiday tomorrow.  It should be...interesting.  She told/warned me that she's a royal bitch when she gets back from Crete because she loves it there and never wants to leave.  I told her she could be a bitch until Monday, when I wouldn't put up with it anymore.  I've had no word from or about Karen.  I hope she's doing as well as she can be.  Sarah was nice and very helpful/hardworking.

3.  The trafficking of girls is a horrible, grim thing.  I encourage awareness of this worldwide phenomenon (yes, it's all over the States and UK as well, and includes domestic girls from both countries, and well as foreign nationals/illegal immigrants), but would not suggest immersing yourself in the topic as full as I have done over the last week or so.  Girl Museum research, FYI.  Also, Girl Museum has a new exhibition that I forgot to mention earlier: Hina Matsuri: Celebrating Girls' Day in Japan.  Go check it out!!

4.  Beer Festival this weekend.  Two, as a matter of fact, but Adam and I are skipping the one here in Huddersfield (it was only "enh" last year, even with Matthew the freakishly bearded with us) and heading down to Nottingham to what looks like will a totally awesome, rocking, drunken good time.  They have over 700 real ales and ciders/perries down there, and it's in the Castle grounds, behind Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem (the oldest pub in England, and it has good food and damn fine beer itself).  Plus Matthew (of the freakish beard--he grew it at some point in the like 3 years we hadn't seen him before last year.  Mountain man meets Wandering Jew) and his awesome woman Ami will be meeting us there, as well as Claire and her Matt.  Claire, Matthew, and Adam all were in the physics department at Leicester, and Matthew is one of our favorite drinking buddies (Gareth is another, but he sucks and won't come visit), and Claire is just a blast.  Plus, both of their partners are fun, smart, people, so it should be a good time.  No word on Ms. Claudia's attendance at this point, but she may also make a part of the drunken festivities.  Sadly, we're heading down early on Saturday, and back on Sunday, so we'll probably be tired for a good chunk of Saturday, and, shall we say, delicate?, on Sunday.  Still, the things we endure to experience good beer!

5.  Brewing.  We bottled our fourth batch weekend before last (I think).  Very dark, chocolaty.  First proper tasting should happen this weekend, but it won't be truly ready for consumption for a couple more (or longer) weeks.  Tony is taking me to pick up ingredients for our next batch and the one after it tomorrow.  My recipe is the next one to go into the fermenter; I'm hoping to make a sweetish, darker ale with a smoky aroma and flavor.  We'll see how it turns out.  The batch after that has already been named: The Bastard Brew.  It will be made from all our leftover grains, bulked out with some basic malt, and some random hops that Adam decided on.  My batch will probably hit the fermenter weekend after the beer festival, and we'll bottle it right before we fly out to the States for Thanksgiving.  The Bastard Brew will, if Adam gets his way (and we have time), be made between our returning in the beginning of December and the New Year.

I'm going to lay down and read for a while.  There is probably more to say, but I feel I've covered at least my basic blogging obligation at this point.

Life, Frustrated

So I was, impressively enough, not even slightly hungover on Sunday, after my boozefest of 8+ drinks on Saturday.  As Adam was quick to point out, those drinks were spread out over about 8 hours--we are nothing if not thorough about our drinking--but even so, quite impressive, at least to my mind.  Sadly, it was shockingly expensive for the two of us to down 16 or 18 (maybe 17) drinks over the course of the evening, and I shudder to think what the caloric count was.  I will say that I was slightly weak on Sunday, but that was due to a distinct lack of water.  I must have drank some before I went to bed, but when I woke up about 3:30am, I chugged a litre's worth then, and again about 5:30.  And 7:00.  And so on.  Well, I suppose it wasn't a full litre each time, but at least half of one.  All I know is I filled the nalgene bottle up every time, though it wasn't always empty.

Tea went well.  The salmon I made for Tony went over a treat (not for Pam; she had chicken), and Adam and I both like the recipe, so yay.  If you care, salmon fillet with a bit of lemon juice, loads of brown sugar, and lots of dill (or tarragon, but we used dill).  Bake until done.  Do not overcook your fish.  You can also do it on the grill--extra tasty--but don't be so crazy as to think you can put it straight on the grill.  Sugar + Fire = Very Large, Very Smelly Fire - Fish.  Put foil down first, or a (soaked) cedar plank or something.  The carrots also went over a treat.  Pam, besides disliking fish, also dislikes cooked carrots, but she tried 2 out of politeness.  Or maybe because I told her we tossed them in butter and brown sugar.  Brown sugar makes everything better.

In the frustration realm, I'm dealing with the US side having all their goals written off due to shitty reffing, England probably advancing (thank His Noodly Appendage that I'm not working tomorrow), and the world's worst package delivery company outside of "that bloke over there."  I'm slightly less frustrated by that one now, since part of Adam's birthday present just arrived, but the Father's Day present Adam ordered for Tony is scheduled for redelivery--AGAIN--tomorrow.  They don't ring the flat, they don't leave delivery attempt slips, and they lie.  Tracking told me that yesterday, when there was always someone in the flat, they attempted delivery at 8:56pm, but were back in the Leed's depot by 9:01pm.  We do not live 5 minutes from Leeds.  Also, they're supposed to attempt deliveries between 7am and 7pm, so that's weird as well.  Sheesh.  Oh well, at least Adam's present is here.  We'll deal with Tony's again if it's not delivered tomorrow (again, someone should be here the whole day).  Sometimes I really hate how Titanic is set up.  We're supposedly "secure," but the doors never shut properly to activate the maglock, we have no stairs that we can use to get up to our flats (they're all fire stairs, so they're locked from inside the stairwells), which would be "secure" except that when the power goes out, the lifts shut down, meaning you can't get home unless someone propped open the stairwell doors (hi, I do).  Plus, we don't have a concierge desk like we were promised, so we can't get packages, because delivery people can't get in, and even if they do, they have no place to leave the packages.  Argh!

But I'm buying more beer making supplies tomorrow.  Yay!  Third batch should--if the heat breaks and then stays cooler for a week or two--go in the fermenter in a week and a half.  Go beer!

EDIT:  What the hell?!  Somehow, by virtue of a miracle, both England and the US are through to the next round.  Though I'm still pissed about the shitty reffing the US has faced.  Two perfectly valid goals, wiped off because--as I'm starting to think--the refs don't want the US through.  I don't see that being the case, but it's certainly starting to get questionable.